Matabele Ants Treat The Wounds Of Their Fellow ‘Soldiers’ During Battle By Licking Them

A new study suggests that African Matabele ants share an interesting trait with human soldiers — their tendency to put their lives at risk by rescuing injured ants, and even possibly healing them by licking their wounds and effectively saving their lives.

According to the Botswana Wildlife Guide, Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are named after the Matabele tribe, as they “go to war” with termites, much like their human equivalents do the same against their rivals. The ants live in extremely large colonies that could boast of as many as 20 million members, and while they primarily go after termites, the insects could also be dangerous for people to handle, as a human arm could be paralyzed after getting bitten 10 or more times.